Roberto Mancini and Jose Mourinho linked... but who could really replace Arsene Wenger at Arsenal?

If Arsenal fans want Arsene Wenger out – and, despite the victory over Everton at the weekend, there were fans at Goodison Park making exactly that case – then the follow-up issue is obvious: who will replace him?

On Tuesday two separate news reports attempted to answer that question, with Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport suggesting that Inter Milan coach Roberto Mancini was in the frame for the job, while journalist Duncan Castles claimed that Jose Mourinho had been approached over possibly replacing his old nemesis at the Emirates Stadium.

Clearly, neither individual is actually a viable successor to Wenger (more on why down the page). But the point remains – who could realistically replace Wenger this summer?

We take a look at some of the more realistic available candidates...

Given he is about to preside over his fifth international tournament as Germany head coach, it is tempting to wonder if the 56-year-old Low will soon be after a new challenge. If his team win in France this summer he will certainly have nothing left to prove (and nothing left to win) at that level, and so may decide that a return to club management is the right thing for him at this point in time.

If that were to be the case then it is not hard to see why Arsenal would be interested: it is not too often you get the chance to appoint a World Cup-winning coach, while Low has ensured Germany have enjoyed sustained success - reaching the semi-finals of all four previous tournaments – since he took the reins from Jurgen Klinsmann in 2006.

Low has club management experience, about ten years of it, but crucially not in the last decade and not in a league west of Dortmund. Arsenal would be bringing in a man who would command respect and probably attract big name signings, but would have to adjust to having a game every three days and managing all facets of a Premier League club.

Conclusion: An obvious candidate given the one glistening trophy on his CV, and not someone likely to turn down the opportunity if he decided a return to club management was on offer. But his lack of club experience in recent years should be a significant red flag and, if Arsenal fans want a change of manager primarily to win the league, you have to doubt whether he could instantly be the man to deliver that.

The manner in which Borussia Dortmund eviscerated Tottenham in the Europa League has made fans and clubs throughout England sit up and take notice, vaulting Tuchel up at least a couple of levels in the estimation of the major power-brokers behind the scenes.

The second coming of Klopp (like the Liverpool boss, he impressed at Mainz before moving to the Westfalenstadion), Tuchel may not yet have the trophies that adorned his predecessor’s BVB rein but, in the minds of some at least, he has already proven himself to be at least the tactical equal of the man he replaced.

Klopp seemed to leave Dortmund last summer with the rest of the German league having grown wise to his tactical methods, but Tuchel has moved the team forward again and they are currently the only challengers to Bayern Munich’s dominance. Tuchel is clearly tactically astute and speaks the sort of precise English that means he could make the jump to the Premier League tomorrow, but his lack of any trophies on his CV will remain a bit of an issue as far as the really big jobs go.

Conclusion: The Bundesliga appears to be the most tactically advanced league in Europe at the moment, with a spate of managers who have sophisticated and precise ideas of how they want their teams to play. If Wenger’s tactical naivety is a key reason behind Arsenal’s inability to win a title race then employing a manager from the German league would appear an upgrade in that particular aspect, with Tuchel an obvious candidate.

The 42-year-old is young, motivated and deeply astute – but he has never won a trophy himself in his career and, while he might be a bit more cutting edge than Wenger in some respects, Arsenal would lose a great wealth of experience and gravitas. In the long-run he might be a great appointment, but it is hard to say it would be worth pushing Wenger out just to appoint him now.

Cocu moving to Arsenal would be a deal a long time in the making, considering the Dutchman declined an approach from the Gunners in 2000 to continue playing for Barcelona. As a player he won five league titles (four of them at PSV), so he knows what is required – doing so as manager with PSV to end the Ajax domination of the Dutch league last season.

Since then Cocu, who stepped away from the game briefly to have a tumour removed from his back, has seen his reputation increase – overcoming the loss of Memphis Depay to guide his side into the knockout stages of the Champions League. There, in true Arsenal fashion, they could not get beyond the last-16 – but only after losing a penalty shootout to the far more fancied Atletico Madrid.

Cocu has proven his credentials on a tight budget, using the academy system at PSV and his eye for talent to fashion a title-winning side that, despite churn in the summer, is in the race to repeat as champions again next season. He looks ready to make the step up to a major European league within the next 18 months; it is harder to see him turning down Arsenal for a second time, should the opportunity arise.

Conclusion: Having knocked out Manchester United and nearly shocked Atletico Madrid in the Champions League, Cocu has shown he has the tactical nous to match the big guns of European football. Arsenal would be a huge step up but the Dutchman, with his willingness to trust in youth, would appear to be a possibility to continue the Wenger way.

On course to deliver a second successive top-seven finish for Southampton, Ronald Koeman has seen his reputation increase exponentially during his time on the south coast – even being linked with the job at Barcelona not so long ago.

Luis Enrique’s decision to stay at the Nou Camp probably means that post is now beyond the Dutchman, but he would surely jump at the opportunity to take the reins at Arsenal instead. Some might suggest that the cutting-edge recruitment and statistics departments that Southampton run behind the scenes means the conditions are perfect for any manager to be successful at the Saints – but Mauricio Pochettino’s subsequent impressive work at Spurs indicate that is not entirely true.

Koeman has turned things around despite a poor start to the current season, helping turn the likes of Sadio Mane and Virgil van Dijk into top Premier League performers. Whatever his role in the recruitment process it is clear that Southampton have done well in that area, while Koeman has certainly not held the club back with his tactical approach.

He might not be a ‘sexy’ target for Arsenal but, given his record as a player and a coach, he would seem a safe option – and at 53 would arrive at the right age to build another 10 or 15 year stay at the club.

Conclusion: Koeman’s confrontations with Louis van Gaal – who he has generally got the better of – suggest Koeman has the fire to hold his own in the upper echelons of the Premier League, while tactically and technically he would seem to offer a certain evolution, but not revolution, from Wenger’s methods. But why would Arsenal sack one understated, moderately successful manager just to appoint another with a similar but shorter record?

A disciple of Marcelo Bielsa, Sampaoli adopted some of the famous coach’s more ambitious tactical tenets and smoothed down some of the more outlandish edges to guide Chile to victory in last summer’s Copa America.

Then he promptly resigned, ensuring that one of the most highly-regarded managers in the current game (Chile almost knocked Brazil out of the 2014 World Cup, lest we forget) is ready and available for almost any top job. He hasn’t gone anywhere yet, however, meaning Arsenal could yet land him in the summer.

Sampaoli has almost two decades of management experience at club level in South America, and showed on the international stage that he is no slouch as a coach, although his lack of exposure to the Premier League would mean it would be a huge leap to then taking over one of its biggest clubs. But it would be fun…

Conclusion: Tactically Sampaoli would be a hugely interesting appointment, and would shake things up at the Emirates Stadium in such a way that he could well transform the team into a far more dangerous outfit. But his lack of club experience in European football (either as a player or a coach) and the language barrier would surely make him far too risky a proposition for the Arsenal board to even consider.

Wenger is currently on course to steer Arsenal to the 20th successive top four finish of his tenure at the club, ensuring yet another season of Champions League football. But fans are beginning to lose patience with the Frenchman nonetheless; with his run of just three league titles during that time – along with a more recent inability to get beyond the last-16 in Europe – leading a vocal minority to demand a change at the top.

The debate about the validity of that argument has been loud and divisive, with little consensus. Some believe Wenger is the last bastion of calm in an ever-more knee-jerk world, a man serenely guiding his side through increasingly choppy waters as everyone else loses their heads. Others see him as an anachronism, a man out of touch with the modern game – and whose past achievements are blinding him and others to the under-performance of the current crop.

The truth, perhaps, is somewhere in the middle – Arsenal have fallen short in too many big games in recent seasons for anyone to argue Wenger is a great tactician, yet his steady hand (in the market and on the training pitch) has seen the club avoid the boom and bust spiral that has hit the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool).

If he went, things could well get better – but they could easily get worse too.

Conclusion: After 20 years in charge, and as he enters his late sixties, it is clear that Arsenal and Wenger’s parting of ways will be coming sooner rather than later. But for the club to make that separation before the Frenchman is ready would surely take exceptional circumstances – or an exceptional man to replace him. Whether the former situation is in place one can debate incessantly, but it is far harder to argue there is an obvious replacement they can call upon.

Jose Mourinho: Has heart set on Manchester United role, and indeed recent reports only seem designed to apply pressure on the Old Trafford hierarchy to get the deal done. Is surely too much bad blood between him and Arsenal/Wenger for him ever to take over.

Roberto Mancini: Again, you would suggest that the recent reports have probably emanated from somewhere within his own camp – trying to pressure Inter into backing their man ahead of next season, rather than reporting a genuine approach. Arsenal would surely set their sights higher, even if Mancini has won a Premier League title more recently than the Gunners.

Thierry Henry: The Frenchman (or even Dennis Bergkamp, who has a bit more coaching experience) would be the romantic choice, but surely would not be entrusted with such responsibility with so little on their CV to commend them.

Patrick Vieira: Has coaching experience, unlike Henry, but seems too invested in the Manchester City project (he is coaching their affiliate, New York City FC) to be lured back to London now.

Dragan Stojkovic: Long touted (mainly after comments from Wenger himself) as a possible successor – but, having never managed outside Japan and China, the board would surely never sanction his appointment.

Eddie Howe: Twelve months ago it would have been Garry Monk occupying this obligatory spot for an English manager (or Roberto Martinez, for the Premier League equivalent), an indication of the inherent vagaries to the managerial business. Howe has worked wonders in two stints at Bournemouth but conspicuously failed when he tried his hand at Burnley in between … so Arsenal are probably best off leaving him to England.